Fola Komolafe
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” 1 Peter 5:8-9 KJVS
It is said that when lions hunt, they look for weak, young, isolated, unguarded animals. They are the ones marked out for attack. Believers have an enemy, an adversary called the devil and his ultimate agenda is to destroy us, not merely to hurt, maim, or discourage, but to devour and destroy us. He goes around like a roaring lion making a lot of noise, threatening to bring upon believers things that God has delivered us from. One translation says he goes around like a fiercely hungry lion seeking someone to devour. He does that when he gets us to bow to circumstances, pressures, or forces of his evil design, hoping to make us yield to him.
However the bible tells us to resist him, stedfast in the faith. You have been given the right, the power and the authority to resist the devil because you are submitted and yielded to God. James 4:7 says ‘submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.’ If you will resist him, standing against him and his lies with the word of God which is the word of faith, he has no choice but to flee (run away in terror) from you.You need to realise that you are in a spiritual warfare and you have God on your side, so you have already won the fight. However you need to enforce that victory every time you find yourself under attack. You need to be ready, you need to do something, you need to stand against the enemy refusing his lies and you need to keep standing your ground in faith declaring the word of God boldly and continually in the face of opposition. Do not give in and do not accept or yield to his lies! 1 John 5:4 says, ‘For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.’
In an article about surviving a lion’s attack it said when you are confronted by a lion you do three things. 1) do not run or turn your back to the lion – that is do not give in to the fear remembering God has not given you the spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind (2 Tim 1:7); and as Jesus said to Jairus in Luke 8:50, He would say to you, ‘fear not only believe. 2) scream at the lion – that is boldly confess out loud the word of God, the promises of God at the lion, at the situation. The bible says the spoken word of God is the sword of the spirit (Eph 6:17), and we overcame the devil by the blood of the lamb (Jesus) and the word of our testimony in Rev. 12:11. 3) wave a stick above your head – that is praise God in the face of adversity. Praise Him for your victory, praise Him for doing great things for you, praise Him for delivering you, healing you, redeeming you. Praise Him! The scriptures says out of our mouths God has ordained praise that He may still the enemy and the avenger (Psalm 8:2).
You are on the winning side so hold your ground. Your first words, your first response matters in this battle as it sets the stance you want to take. Know that you have been delivered from the authority of darkness (Col 1:13) and take a stance of faith, ready to resist and stand against the devil whom your Heavenly Father already defeated for you (Col.2:15).
Prayer: Lord we praise you for in every situation you have given us the victory through Christ Jesus. We praise you for it is Christ who redeemed us and we praise you for you have delivered us. Help us Lord to remember what you have done for us when tough times threaten our lives. Help us Lord to not be afraid but to believe boldly speaking your word continually as we take a faith stance. We say today that we resist the devil and all his works, we resist sickness, disease and poverty in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen
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